American Express Ends Five-Year Absence as N.B.A.’s Official Charge Card

After a five-year absence, American Express will announce on Monday that it has again become the official charge card of the N.B.A.

The deal, which is for three years, will also include USA Basketball, the W.N.B.A. and the N.B.A. Development League.

As with its sponsorships in golf and tennis, American Express will give its cardholders exclusive access to game tickets and to events like the N.B.A. draft and musical performances during All-Star Game weekend, as well as opportunities to meet players and coaches.

“We’ll provide access to largely hard-to-get tickets,” said Courtney Kelso, the vice president for global media and sponsorship marketing at American Express.

Kelso said that a significant jump in requests from cardholders for tickets prompted American Express to seek a sponsorship with the league.

American Express will advertise on NBA TV. The company is considering a separate N.B.A.-themed marketing campaign.

When American Express was an N.B.A. sponsor from 1995 to 2005, the company ran popular ad campaigns, including one that featured Don Nelson using his charge card to buy German dictionaries so he could learn to speak the language with Dirk Nowitzki.

American Express will expand its existing deals with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards. Earlier this year, American Express was upstaged by Chase, which signed a long-term deal with Madison Square Garden, where American Express has long been a sponsor.

American Express is the fourth major sponsorship for the N.B.A. this year. The league has also made deals with Bacardi, State Farm and BBVA, the Spanish financial giant, which signed a four-year agreement worth more than $100 million.

Mark Tatum, the executive vice president for global marketing partnerships at the N.B.A, said, “The resurgence of the Knicks, the Heat, the Spurs, the Lakers, the Celtics: there are very exciting story lines and people want to be associated with the N.B.A. right now.”

A version of this article appears in print on December 20, 2010, on page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: American Express Ends Five-Year Absence as N.B.A.’s Official Charge Card. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe